Chronic Conditions

A chronic condition is any health issue that persists over an extended period — the term describes duration, not cause. An autoimmune condition is a specific type of chronic condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own healthy tissue. In other words, all autoimmune conditions are chronic, but not all chronic conditions are autoimmune — conditions like hypertension, chronic fatigue, or fibromyalgia can be long-lasting without involving immune system dysfunction at all. This distinction matters clinically, since autoimmune conditions typically require a different diagnostic and treatment approach centred on immune regulation specifically.

Yes, and this has been demonstrated in controlled clinical trials using therapies we offer. A randomised, sham-controlled trial published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that whole-body hyperthermia significantly reduced pain in fibromyalgia patients compared to a sham treatment, using a series of six sessions over three weeks. Separately, a prospective clinical trial published in PMC found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy led to significant improvement across all fibromyalgia symptoms and quality of life, with brain imaging confirming measurable changes in the areas associated with pain processing.

Yes, this is one of the better-established uses of HBOT. A systematic review focused on diabetic foot ulcers found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy significantly improved healing rates and reduced the risk of major amputation compared to standard care alone. The underlying mechanism is straightforward: chronic wounds often fail to heal due to insufficient oxygen reaching the tissue, and HBOT directly addresses this by saturating blood and tissue with significantly more oxygen than normal breathing can achieve.

Yes, and the evidence here is notably strong for a single-session intervention. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in JAMA Psychiatry found that a single whole-body hyperthermia session produced a rapid antidepressant effect that lasted approximately six weeks. This is a particularly meaningful finding for treatment-resistant cases, where standard medication has often already failed to provide relief. The proposed mechanism involves activation of the body's heat-shock and serotonergic pathways, offering a physiological route to improvement distinct from pharmacological treatment.

Yes, these represent some of the strongest-evidenced uses of plasma exchange in medicine. Both myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barré syndrome are classified as Category I indications by the American Society for Apheresis (ASFA), meaning plasma exchange is accepted as first-line therapy, either alone or alongside other treatment. In both conditions, the immune system produces antibodies that attack neuromuscular tissue; plasma exchange removes these antibodies directly from circulation, often producing meaningful improvement during acute episodes.